Ritual Rules

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Rituals are magical formulae that allow a caster to create a magical effect of their choosing through a combination of chanting, gesturing, and the use of magical focuses and ingredients. While sphere abilities are fueled by spell points and often take no longer than a standard action, rituals may take minutes, hours, or even days to perform, often requiring the use of a magical laboratory or temple and the expenditure of rare components.

All rituals possess the following:

• Base Sphere: Every ritual has an associated sphere, which a caster must possess in order to use the ritual.
• Ritual Level: Every ritual possesses a level from 0-9.
• Casting Time: The amount of time the caster must invest in order to use the ritual.
• Save DC: If a ritual calls for a saving throw, the DC is equal to 10 + the ritual’s level + the caster’s casting ability modifier.
• Materials: Every ritual has a material cost, be it special focuses, rare materials, or general alchemical equipment. These items must be present when the ritual is used, and with the exception of focuses (which are designated with an F), these materials are expended when the ritual is cast.

Using a ritual

All rituals require the caster to possess a written copy of the ritual such as a scroll or ritual book, as rituals are too complex to use without some form of written direction. If a caster comes into possession of a ritual, the caster must first decipher the magical writing with either a successful Spellcraft check (DC 20 + the ritual’s level), a read magic ritual, or the basic sense ability from the Divination sphere.

Once a ritual has been deciphered, it needn’t be deciphered again, even if the original written copy is lost and another used in its place.

Once a ritual has been deciphered, the method for using that ritual differs depending on whether the caster is working from a permanent magic book or from a scroll.

Ritual Books

To use a ritual from a magic book, the caster must possess that ritual’s associated base sphere (or must possess the Ritual Caster feat), and their caster level with that sphere must be at least twice the ritual’s level. In addition, their casting ability score must also be at least 10 + the ritual’s level. If the caster meets all these prerequisites and possesses the ritual’s material components, he may invest the required amount of time and activate the ritual.

Recording a ritual into a magic book is a process that requires 1 hour per ritual level (0 level rituals take 30 minutes) and requires one page per ritual level (0 level rituals take half a page).

A ritual may be copied from another book, a scroll, or created through independent research.

If a ritual is copied from a scroll, this expends the scroll. In addition, if a ritual is copied from a scroll or another ritual book, a certain amount of magic (in the form of material components) must be expended to create a working written version, according to the following table. This cost does not need to be paid if the ritual was independently researched, as the components were spent during the research itself.

Ritual Level	Writing Cost
0	5 gp
1	10 gp
2	40 gp
3	90 gp

Ritual Scrolls

A ritual scroll contains a copy of a ritual that has been mostly cast, with the ritual’s cost and much of its casting time spent earlier during the scroll’s creation.

Activating a scroll is the same as using a ritual from a book, except the casting time is the spell’s casting time (as opposed to the ritual’s casting time, which is always longer), there is no material component (as that was supplied earlier), and a caster may attempt to activate a scroll even if her caster level isn’t necessarily high enough. Using a ritual scroll causes the writing on the scroll to disappear, leaving the scroll as nothing but an ordinary blank sheet.

If the caster’s caster level isn’t at least twice the ritual’s level, she may make a check (d20 + her caster level vs. a DC equal to the scroll’s caster level + 1) to attempt to use the scroll anyway. If the caster succeeds, the scroll is activated as normal. If this check fails, the scroll is spent and the caster determines scroll mishap as with a core Pathfinder spell scroll.

Creating and using a ritual scroll is handled the same as creating and using a core Pathfinder spell scroll. To create a ritual scroll, a caster must know and be able to use the ritual and must possess the Craft Spell Container feat.

A ritual scroll has a market value equal to the level of the ritual × the creator’s caster level × 25 gp + the ritual’s material cost. When a caster creates a ritual scroll itself, the cost of creation is the level of the ritual x the creator’s caster level x 12.5 gp + the ritual’s material cost. A 0 level ritual is treated as having a level of .5 for this purpose.